F  i  o  n  n .  H  a  n
  W r i t e r  ╳   C o m p o s e r  ╳   D e s i g n e r 

╡Postscript╞

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Dan Forden, best known as the “Toasty!” voice (sometimes with his portrait) at Mortal Kombat—the popular video game franchise since 1992. He is the last guest composer we’re privileged to have this summer. Working as the Audio Director at Warner Bros.Games (Chicago), Dan has made tunes for Midway and William Games, such as: MK series, The Grid, and Injustice series at NetherRealm Studios.

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From Arcade game to Pinball machine, Dan is like a walking encyclopedia of game history! Can you imagine writing music only by programming language 0 and 1? That’s how Dan started to compose for those famous arcade/pinball games, including: ‘Black Knight 2000’(1989), ‘The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot’(1991), ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (1993), ’Medieval Madness’ (1997), among others.

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It’s particularly interesting when Dan shared his compositions for Mortal Kombat series, covering arcade game, console game, interactive 3D projection and video games—whose latest trailer (2019) is so lifelike that amazes you how rapid the technology evolution could be!

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Besides the upcoming MK 11, the delicate character creation of ‘Injustice 2’ and its levelling-up sound design  also broadened my horizons of Adaptive Music—so many techniques are worth getting familiar with!

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Instead of creating soundtrack for game story, our task this time was to compose several ‘loopable’ tunes for typical situations in game: Explore, Combat, Choice, Victory and Death. Then operating those tracks smoothly on Wwise—the interactive audio software for games which we never learn before(!)  

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I was quite worried there would be tons of technical frustration when learning a new software in such short time, but the magic is it didn’t happen a lot—everyone managed to hand in their 1st Wwise project at the end ! And it’s so much fun to hear those music fade-in/out seamlessly by clicking our mouses randomly 🤗

Much appreciated for Dan’s organised and patient guidance—not just on Wwise workshop, but also on the rich resources, professional business advices, and very responsive feedback.

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Knowing that I was about to create music & sound design for the competition in Cologne, Dan’s concise analysis and suggestions greatly helped me find the clear direction to compose. The title music of ‘Blue Honey’ below is the result that I’ve tried my best before the deadline ⏰ Listen by headphone is recommended.

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Dan, thank you for revealing the secrets of fantasies behind the Games—the perhaps, most powerful medium that functions as a metaphor of our relationships with technologies and societies.

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When I read my notes and those materials you taught in the class, I feel a whole new world unfolding in front of me, which invites me to dive in and create much more possibilities on arts and music :)  

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